Hello from mid-Wales (UK)

[Antyronnen]

Hello, I’m Antony, living on the edge of Mynydd Epynt in mid-Wales.

 

The short version of this post is that nearly 50 years ago I built a wooden boat model which was destroyed 5 years later.  Now aged 74 I am about to embark on a repeat of the construction.

 

The longer version is that I had been making models from my teenage years until my early 30s when life (children, a medical career including periods overseas) got in the way.  My main interest was in aeroplanes (scale, flying or static, pre 1945) and, intermittently, wooden boats - Graupner’s Oseberg ship and Santa Maria.  Then as a student I purchased a Billing kit of one of 5 viking era ships sunk in the Roskilde channel in Denmark (wreck number 3).  The hull was completed in 1971, the decking, the rigging, cargo and steersman soon after.  Soon after that I began my medical residency and it wasn’t until 1974 that I exhibited it at the London Model Engineering Exhibition where it won me a medal!  My next model (a Billing Dutch barge Sperwer) was started but I was never able to devote the time necessary and it languished ‘on the stocks’ until I packed up my home and family and went to work in some remote Central Pacific Islands, surrounded by sea but no modelling!  On my return home some 4 years later I found my prize-winning boat had been smashed beyond repair by the company charged with packing and storing my possessions (a lesson hard learned about protecting the efforts of ones labours).  I was never able to rekindle the enthusiasm and although I always harboured an ambition to build the Viking boat again the kit had been discontinued and I was reconciled to it all being in the past.  In a major downsize some 15 years ago most of my modelling material, and earlier models, were disposed of.

 

These rather contrasty B/W images are all that remains as evidence of my 1/20 model of Skuldelev Wreck 3.    
 

   
 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward 50 years.  Two months ago the Billing kit turned up on eBay (in Canada) and now sits on my work table; for the past month and a half I have been catching up on the 50 years of research since I last made it.  Now retired, much of my time is involved in fairly heavy manual labour (wall and path-building and working for our neighbour with his sheep flock) but I am hoping to redevelop my fine motor skills from my medical practice and my time as a modeller. I have already found a wealth of information and advice about how to do it better on these pages and plan to keep a build log as recommended.

[bruce d]

Hello Antony, a warm welcome to MSW from Sussex. Your path to get here has a lot in common with many people here, glad to have you aboard.

Looking forward to your build log.

 

Cheers,

Bruce

[JeffT]

Welcome to MSW. Your model looks very nice!

[BobG]

Welcome to this wonderful forum, Antyronnen! The black and white photos of your award winning model are great. I think black and white suits this ancient boat very well. It sounds like you have had a very interesting and fulfilling life and I'm sure you'll get a lot of pleasure building this model again years later.

 

I built small plastic models as a kid and then, like you, life's journey took over. I built my first wooden boat model, the Batelina by Maris Stella, 3 years ago at the age of 71 and I've been hooked ever since. Enjoy and welcome aboard!

[Jim Lad]

Hello Antony, and a warm welcome to MSW from 'Down Under'.

 

John

[mtaylor]

Welcome to MSW,  Antony.  Life is a sometimes strange voyage and end up at places where we once were.   Modelbuilding is one of those places.   I hope you'll start a build log when you're ready.

[gagliano1770]

Welcome, Antony! Love your black-and-white photos! Looking forward to more!

[Antyronnen]

Thank you everyone for your warm welcome messages.  I've obviously found the right place to be!  
Now it’s time to get to work and start my build log.

[Louie da fly]

Hi Antony, and welcome to MSW!

 

So sorry to hear about your model being destroyed - it was a beautiful vessel.

 

I'm in a similar situation, in a way. Back when I was 17 I built a scratch model of the Henry Grace a Dieu (Henry VIII's biggest ship) , then pulled it apart because I wasn't happy with the shape of the stern. Then life got in the way - I moved to the other side of Australia, so the model got neglected and steadily deteriorated in its cardboard box. Quite a few of its original pieces - the figurehead, the longboat, the shields along the sides - got lost along the way.

 

About 50 years later I started restoring her and I'm still in the process of doing so. At least in my case it was only neglect, not destruction, so I was able to work on the same model to get it back up to scratch.

 

Looking forward to seeing your new model taking shape. Mediaeval ships are a particular favourite of mine.

 

Good to have you aboard.

 

Steven

[Antyronnen]

Hi Steven,

Sounds sort of familiar as you say.  On the bright side we get to correct the things we did wrong with the added benefit of knowing so much more than we did back then; at least that’s what I tell myself.  Having looked at some of the astonishing quality of work being shown on these pages I realise the bar is much much higher than it was (unless I’ve just got shorter).   

One big regret is not having taken more photographs but back when I did all my own processing and printing I was much more careful with my resources.  Digital photography is a huge boon and this time round I will liberally document everything.  The final pictures of your Byzantine dromon are something I can only aspire to.

I hope you are enjoying your restoration of Henry Grace a Dieu.  I’ve barely started my rebuild but am having a lot of fun.

Best wishes

Antony
 

[Keith Black]

Antony, welcome to MSW. I hope you're able to rekindle the joy of modeling, I look forward to your build log. 

[Louie da fly]

Antony, I really regret never having taken photos of Great Harry (Henry Grace a Dieu) when she was in her original glory. I had all the masts in, all the sails, all the planking, the decks, almost everything except the rigging. It would be nice to compare that with the way she is now. Your photos are pretty amazing. It'll be interesting to see how the new one turns out and following on as she progresses.

 

There is certainly some amazing work on MSW, but it caters for everybody from the rawest newbie to the demi-gods of ship modelling, who write text books on the subject. You'll find the people here very supportive and helpful no matter what level a person is. In my view this is the best forum on the Net.

 

Steven